NPL News storiesKeep up-to-date with the latest stories coming out of the National Physical Laboratory.Zend_Feed_Writer 1.10.1 (http://framework.zend.com)http://www.npl.co.uk/
Cracking pipeline corrosionTue, 03 Mar 2015 10:57:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9163
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9163A new video explores how corrosion research by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is informing best practice in the oil and gas industry.

NPL is working with industry and academia to understand typical pipeline failure mechanisms and mitigate the risk of loss of containment. The video features NPL's recent work investigating the effect of typical welding procedures on sulphide stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel pipeline materials.

]]>0Interruption to MSF Time SignalMon, 02 Mar 2015 09:00:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/ConWebDoc/845
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/ConWebDoc/845More information on the MSF Radio Time Signal and MSF Outages]]>0Memorandum of Understanding signed between NPL and the University of BirminghamThu, 26 Feb 2015 11:08:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9161
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9161The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Birmingham that will see scientists from both institutions working collaboratively to develop new and exciting research capabilities. This builds on the active and established strong collaboration between both institutions within the Quantum Technology space.

Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dr Brian Bowsher, Managing Director of NPL and Professor Richard Williams, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham

The signing of the MoU represents an important milestone in the ongoing relationship between NPL and the University, and provides a platform for jointly devised research programmes.

Both institutes will collaborate through a range of initiatives such as joint appointments, research projects, translational activities and knowledge transfer. The collaboration will focus on a number of core areas of mutual interest including: quantum technology, radioactivity, radiation dosimetry, advanced manufacturing and sensors.

NPL and the University of Birmingham already have an active and nationally recognised collaboration in place through quantum technologies. Both organisations share a vision for undertaking excellent research, translating outcomes to create world class innovation and developing the next generation of science and technology for the benefit of society and the UK economy.

Dr Brian Bowsher, NPL's Managing Director, said:

"This is a fantastic opportunity for NPL, strengthening our strategic links with the University of Birmingham as well as building on our successes in the quantum technology domain. At NPL we have always valued collaboration and to be able to work much closer with the University of Birmingham should open up some major new opportunities for both parties."

Professor Richard Williams, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, said:

"Following on from our highly successful collaboration in quantum technology I am delighted to have this opportunity to broaden our engagement with NPL. Our shared vision provides the opportunity for great research collaborations that will bring benefits to the UK economy and wider society."

]]>0Elite verificationThu, 26 Feb 2015 10:27:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9160
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9160NPL's Product Verification Service was highlighted as an essential part of the cutting-edge manufacturing process in the Raconteur supplement that appeared in The Times.

Product verification was highlighted as one of the new capabilities that will shape manufacturing for the next two decades. NPL's Product Verification Service helps companies improve product design, reduce waste and promote productivity.

NPL's recent work with Brafe Engineering was featured in The Times. This work has helped the company to establish a series of programmes to improve their systems. Ken Dean, Quality Manager at Brafe Engineering said: "Manufacturers often believe they have everything under control and may even feel they know their own areas of weakness, but bringing in experts from NPL really gives them a chance to examine their operations in detail." He went on to add: "Given the cost associated with the inspection, I would say that NPL's Product Verification Programme pays for itself."

Another company that has recently benefited from NPL's Product Verification Service is CW Fletcher & Sons Ltd, a precision parts manufacturer to the aerospace and nuclear industries. The company was facing significant cost pressure from an increasingly competitive global market. Conscious of the need to increase efficiency and reduce costs, the team at CW Fletcher saw NPL's Product Verification Service, delivered as part of Sharing in Growth, as an offer of valuable support which they otherwise wouldn't have had access to. Following NPL's recommendations - one of which should improve the company's application of measurement techniques to yield attractive savings - the company is working to reduce lead times and increase throughput. John Walker, Engineering Manager at CW Fletcher, said: "Through NPL, we are manufacturing with a higher degree of confidence and increasing efficiency to provide more for our customers for the same cost."

Phil Cooper, NPL's Product Verification Programme Leader said: "Product verification is increasingly important for advanced manufacturers, which need to have complete assurance that manufactured product conforms to the original design specification. Metrology is at the heart of product verification, providing precise data on process variables and product characteristics, and is equally important in supporting product innovation and providing impetus for improvements in manufacturing performance."

]]>0SET for Britain 2015Tue, 24 Feb 2015 09:36:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9158
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9158Four NPL scientists have been shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament and be judged against dozens of other researchers in the only national competition of its kind.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto

Anna Subiel, Research Scientist in the Radiation Dosimetry Group is presenting 'Very High Energy Electrons (VHEE) as a potential modality in Radiation Therapy'.

Hector Corte, a student with NPL's Quantum Detection Group, has a poster on 'Magnetic nanoparticle detection using domain wall-based nanosensor'.

Elizabeth Randall, with the Nanoanalysis Group, will exhibit on 'Directly from the Dish: Analysis of Bacterial Proteins by Ambient Mass Spectrometry'.

Trupti Patel, a student with NPL's Quantum Detection Group, is presenting 'Development of Graphene Based NEMS Resonators Coupled to a Nanosquid'.

Three of NPL's researchers have been entered into the Physical Sciences session of the competition, whilst Trupti Patel is entered in to the Engineering and Mathematics session.

The overall aim of SET for Britain is to encourage, support and promote Britain's early-stage and early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians who are an essential part of continuing progress in and development of UK R&D.

The event will take place on Monday 9 March 2015 and be judged by leading academics. The gold medallist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze medallists receive £2,000 and £1,000, respectively.

To look for cosmic rays or to make a video flyover of our green planet at nearly 16,000 mph? Well, now you have the chance!

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is part of Astro Pi, a project in which a team of leading UK space companies have joined forces with British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake to offer students the chance to devise and code their own app or experiment to run on a Raspberry Pi which will be taken to the International Space Station as part of Tim's mission.

The Astro Pi is a Raspberry Pi computer with a sensor board and is ideal for learning programming. Use it to help Tim Peake explore space.

The competition is split between primary schools and secondary schools and the competition has five themes: Spacecraft Sensors; Satellite Imaging and Remote Sensing; Space Measurements; Data Fusion and Space Radiation.

Astro Pi competition - important dates

3 April 2015:Primary school age competition closes

3 April 2015:Deadline for secondary school age teams to submit their concepts and have the chance to receive an Astro Pi board and Raspberry Pi computer

29 June 2015:Final deadline for secondary school age teams to submit their code and full entries

]]>0Combing the frequencies of optical clocksThu, 19 Feb 2015 12:02:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9151
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9151Researchers at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have demonstrated the highest level of agreement ever reported between two different types of femtosecond frequency combs - the tools used to measure the frequency of the next generation of atomic clocks.

Part of a femtosecond comb spanning the spectral range from visible to mid-infrared wavelengths (500 nm to 1100 nm)

NPL's primary frequency standard is a caesium fountain atomic clock, which realises the current definition of the SI second based on the caesium atom. But optical atomic clocks currently under development, which use laser-cooled trapped ions and atoms, are capable of keeping time much more accurately than the best caesium clocks in use today. This improvement in performance means a redefinition of the second in terms of an optical frequency is expected to take place in the future.

But before that can happen, we need to be able to compare different types of optical clock against one another, to evaluate uncertainties in their measurement of time, and against our current caesium clocks, to relate their frequencies back to the present definition of the second.

Femtosecond frequency combs are the tools we use to do this. Femtosecond combs are based on lasers which produce pulses of light of extremely short duration, of the order of femtoseconds (10-15 s). These create a spectrum of equally spaced frequencies, which can be thought of as the teeth of a comb. These 'teeth' make a ruler against which we can accurately measure optical frequencies.

If femtosecond combs are not to limit the accuracy of optical frequency measurements, we need to know that the measurement uncertainty involved in using them is less than the uncertainties of the clocks they are comparing.

In a new study published in the journal Metrologia, Luke Johnson, Patrick Gill and Helen Margolis of NPL compared two different types of femtosecond comb to assess their systematic uncertainty; one based on a titanium-sapphire laser, the other on an erbium-doped fibre laser. For comparisons of optical frequencies against microwave frequencies (such as those of caesium clocks) the combs agreed to within 5 parts in 1018. When measuring the ratio of two optical clock frequencies, they found that the combs agreed to within 3 parts in 1021. These results represent the highest level of agreement ever reported between two such combs, and far surpass the systematic uncertainties of state-of-the-art optical clocks (a few parts in 1018) and caesium clocks (around 1 part in 1016).

In preparation for any future redefinition of the SI second, it's crucial that we can accurately compare the frequencies of optical clocks against one another and against our current caesium primary standards. This research demonstrates that femtosecond combs will make a negligible contribution to the uncertainty of frequency measurements of NPL's atomic clocks, even as the uncertainties of optical clocks continue to be improved.

The two combs were recently used at NPL to measure the optical frequency ratio between two transitions in an ytterbium ion optical clock, as well as the frequencies of the two transitions relative to the caesium primary standard. These latter measurements enabled the researchers to improve the constraints on present-day time-variation of fundamental physical constants.

In January, two of the paper's authors received recognition for their significant contributions to science. Patrick Gill, Senior Fellow in Optical Frequency Standards & Metrology, was made an MBE for services to Science in The Queen's New Year's Honours List 2015, and Helen Margolis was made an NPL Fellow in Optical Frequency Standards & Metrology.

]]>0Novel electrode boosts green hydrogen researchThu, 19 Feb 2015 11:34:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9150
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9150Scientists from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have developed a novel reference electrode, and are working with hydrogen energy system manufacturer ITM Power to aid the development of hydrogen production technologies for renewable energy storage.

Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysers (PEMWEs) convert electricity and water into hydrogen and oxygen using two electrodes separated by a solid polymer electrolyte. This promising technology could be coupled to intermittent renewable energy sources to generate hydrogen for efficient energy storage and low-carbon transportation.

PEMWEs are more efficient than currently-used alkaline electrolysis technologies, but require relatively expensive catalyst materials such as iridium/ruthenium oxide (for oxygen evolution at the anode) and platinum (for hydrogen evolution at the cathode). Cost-effective design and extended lifetime are needed to boost competitiveness of PEMWEs, but development is currently being held back by poor understanding of the degradation of these catalysts.

Edward Brightman and Gareth Hinds from the Centre for Carbon Measurement at NPL have adapted their innovative fuel cell reference electrode for use in PEMWEs, allowing in situ measurement of the electrochemical processes at the anode and the cathode.

Conventional reference electrodes either connect to the edge of the cell under test, leading to significant measurement errors arising from edge effects, or require special modifications to be made to the PEMWE's design, making them difficult to incorporate. NPL's reference electrode avoids these problems by connecting directly to the active region of the cell through holes drilled into the end plates of the cell. This allows the reference electrode to determine the contributions of the anode and the cathode to the cell voltage, without affecting the cell's performance.

Commercial PEMWE systems commonly show a decay in open-circuit potential (the voltage at zero current) after the current is switched off. This has conventionally been attributed to changes in the redox state of the anode catalyst which can lead to degradation. But in new work published in Electrochemistry Communications, the NPL reference electrode has demonstrated that the decay in potential is in fact entirely due to the cathode. This is caused by oxidation of the platinum surface following shut-down, and large changes in potential were found to significantly reduce the electrochemical surface area of the platinum catalyst.

NPL is working with ITM Power, the UK's leading manufacturer of commercial PEMWE systems, to apply the technique to the study of catalyst durability and the development of accelerated test protocols for new catalyst materials. While internationally-recognised accelerated stress tests exist for PEM fuel cells, there are no equivalent protocols for PEM electrolysers.

Nicholas van Dijk, Research Director at ITM Power and co-author of the publication, said:

"This work has disrupted the conventional thinking in PEM electrolyser degradation and has paved the way toward the development of internationally-recognised accelerated stress tests. It has not only helped speed up innovation to market within ITM Power, but will benefit the industry as a whole."

]]>0Opportunity to participate in European research projectsTue, 17 Feb 2015 09:33:00 +0000http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9137
http://www.npl.co.uk/content/conWebDoc/9137The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) will lead six new collaborative projects, following the first round of project calls from the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR).

NPL is actively seeking partners to become engaged with the projects. Opportunities range from providing advice and guidance to the project's consortium, as well as offering to take up procedures, methods, protocols, devices and use of new/improved measurement capabilities generated by the project.

The 2014 EMPIR Call provided funding for joint research projects to address challenges within industry. Following a review of the bid proposals, the EMPIR Committee has selected 14 projects for funding.

NPL is involved in ten of these new collaborations and is leading six of them. NPL is also involved in 89 ongoing and completed projects from EMPIR's predecessor, the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), making the two programmes a significant source of funding for measurement science research in the UK.

The €600 million EMPIR is designed to build on the success of the EMRP, with an increased focus on innovation activities to target the needs of industry and accelerate the uptake of research outputs. EMPIR is being delivered by European members and partners of Europe's Metrology Community (EURAMET) with support from the Horizon 2020 initiative.

Metrology for innovative nanoparticles will provide industry with techniques and methods to support the development of advanced products whose function is enhanced by innovative nanoparticles, e.g. polymeric, noble metal and quantum dot nanomaterials.

Metrology for 5G communications will develop traceable metrology and standardisation required by 5G communications, to improve the associated measurement uncertainties to underpin all aspects from the signals, devices, systems and test environments for the emerging 5G technologies.

Metrology for length-scale engineering of materials will generate design rules and new measurement techniques to exploit the opportunity to use length-scale engineered materials into industrial components that are lighter, stronger, fatigue and wear resistant.